Dodge Challenger Demon May Only Get an Automatic Transmission

The good news: It's factory transbrake equipped.

Time to wake up! Instead of an alarm clock, let's listen to the noises of Dodge's latest teaser, Lock and Load. The Challenger SRT Demon is the latest addition to Dodge's fleet of high performance offerings to the public—and they've certainly been milking the teasers lately.

We know that Dodge is aiming for, at the very least, fast-in-a-straight-line after discovering the car has a feature set that includes launch control. This contributes to one of the many operations which occur in its "Drag Mode", in addition to electronic suspension adjustments and other sophisticated tweaks throughout the car.

One of the video's focus points is the flappy-paddles on the back of the steering wheel and the driver's foot well that has, count 'em, two pedals. If Dodge really is gearing this up to be a drag-killer, it is no surprise that they only equipped this with an automatic transmission, as those are generally quicker in the quarter mile. It's also unknown if this is a traditional automatic or a fancy fast-shifting dual clutch gearbox.

If you're a muscle car guy, you probably have heard of fitting a car with a transbrake. This puts the car in first and reverse at the same time so that the gearbox is locked against itself and the car can build power until its ready to launch. Dodge claims that during this launch mode (which will hold the engine at up to 2,350 RPM by seemingly cutting ignition), the Demon receives a 105 percent increase in boost pressure and 120 percent increase in torque (likely as a result of the increase in boost).

It's starting to feel like the Demon is a truly modern take the classic muscle car, with a bunch of more cool bells and whistles. You can adjust just about everything you'd want: engine power, the speed at which the transmission shifts, suspension feel—even the car's shift light. Another cool premium feature is that the car even records sensor data for playback with the on-screen display later on.

via YouTube

Dodge Demon Display

It's estimated the car's power will fall somewhere within the mid- to high 700-horsepower range, though no official figure has been stated. The "7:57" in the latest teaser may be an indication of what to expect, though.